AND NEIGHBOURHOOD. 173 



183. GADWALL 



Anas drepera. 



This species is mentioned by Morton, ' Nat. 

 History of Northamptonshire,' p. 431, as having been 

 occasionally taken on Sir John Shaw's decoy, to 

 which I have alluded in the previous article. I 

 cannot say with complete certainty that I ever met 

 with the Gadwall in a wild state in our county, I 

 certainly never had a shot at one therein ; but of late 

 years a few, probably stragglers from the Meres of 

 West Norfolk, have been obtained in the neighbour- 

 hood of Lilford. About December 15, 1884, my 

 falconer reported to me that two Gadwalls were 

 frequenting our home ponds, and on December 29 

 one of these birds, a fine adult male, was shot near 

 the house by my cousin, who mistook it for a common 

 Wild Duck, On January 12, 1889, our decoy-man 

 reported one male Gadwall on the decoy-pool, and a 

 young female of the year was caught there, pinioned, 

 and transferred to our park-pond on February 18 of 

 the same year, and on November 12, 1889, a fine 

 pair were caught at the decoy, and treated in the 

 same manner as the February bird, I consider it 

 as more than probable that some Gadwalls may 

 have been seen, and possibly even shot, in our 

 county without having been recognized or recorded, 

 as the females and young birds closely resemble 

 those of the Wild Duck, and few of our game- 

 keepers would take any particular notice of their 

 smaller dimensions, and the white speculum, or bar 

 on the wings, by which the present species may 

 be distinguished at all ages. The Gadwall was 



